The present invention relates generally to the field of communication, and, more particularly, to the selection of a communication service provider in a multiple communication mode (hereinafter multi-mode) environment.
Traditional mobile terminals used for wireless or cellular communication typically operate using a single communication mode or wireless access technology. That is, a mobile terminal may be designed to communicate using, for example, frequency division multiple access (FDMA) technology (e.g., the advanced mobile phone service (AMPS) standard), time division multiple access (TDMA) technology (e.g., the Telecommunication Industry Association (TIA)/ Electronic Industries Association (EIA) 136 or digital AMPS (DAMPS) standard), global system for mobile communication (GSM) technology, or code division multiple access (CDMA) technology (e.g., TIA interim standard (IS) 95). Wireless or cellular service is typically provided to a consumer through a xe2x80x9chomexe2x80x9d service provider. The home service provider is generally able to provide full service to the consumer within certain geographic regions in which the home service provider is licensed by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Because service providers typically do not provide ubiquitous service, alliances may be formed between service providers to expand their geographic coverage for serving customers.
An example of alliances between service providers is illustrated in FIG. 1. A first service provider can serve its customers in region 22, but it also competes with the second and the third providers within portions of region 22. The second and the third service providers serve their customers in regions 24 and 26 respectively. Because the second and the third service providers do not compete, they may establish a xe2x80x9cpartnerxe2x80x9d relationship to allow their customers to obtain service from the other service provider when they are within the other service provider""s geographic region. As a result, their customers benefit from an extended geographic coverage region. Similarly, a fourth service provider may serve customers in region 28 and compete with the second service provider in the overlap between regions 24 and 28. The fourth service provider may not, however, compete with the first service provider 22 and, therefore, may establish a xe2x80x9cpartnerxe2x80x9d relationship with the first service provider 22 similar to the relationship between the second and the third providers. Several other service provider classifications such as xe2x80x9cfavored,xe2x80x9d xe2x80x9cenhanced favored,xe2x80x9d xe2x80x9cneutral,xe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9cforbiddenxe2x80x9d may be defined to represent the nature of a relationship between two service providers, which can be used to allow wireless or cellular customers to obtain service from other service providers when they leave their home service provider""s region.
For example, when a customer attempts to establish a wireless or cellular call outside of their home service provider""s service area, the mobile terminal may scan or survey the frequency spectrum to detect the available service providers in that area. If a service provider is detected that has established a relationship with that customer""s home service provider (e.g., status of partner, favored, neutral, etc.), then the mobile terminal may select that service provider for completion of the call.
Several protocols have been developed for selecting a service provider. Unfortunately, these protocols may be proprietary and/or specific to a particular communication mode or standard (e.g., AMPS, TIA/EIA-136, GSM, etc.). Many current generation mobile terminals, however, include the ability to communicate using more than one communication mode and are therefore termed multi-mode mobile terminals. Thus, traditional service provider selection protocols may not take full advantage of the capabilities of these multi-mode mobile terminals. Moreover, mergers or alliances between wireless or cellular service providers may bring previously incompatible communication modes or access technologies together under the same corporate umbrella. The continued growth of wireless or cellular services into international markets may also result in new service profiles and/or competitive scenarios in which multi-mode service selection may be advantageous.
Consequently, a need continues to exist for improved service provider selection strategies.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide improved mobile terminals, methods, and computer program products that can be used in a multi-mode environment.
It is another object of the present invention to provide improved mobile terminals, methods, and computer program products that can improve the selection of a communication service provider in a multi-mode environment.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide an improved service provider classification model that can be used with mobile terminals, methods, and computer program products to select a communication service provider.
These and other objects, advantages, and features of the present invention can be provided by mobile terminals, methods, and computer program products that allow multiple communication modes to be surveyed to locate a suitable or desirable communication service provider. The threshold for what is acceptable and what is not can be based on service provider preference rather than technology-specific protocols. Moreover, by using service provider selection methodologies and protocols developed for each specific communication mode, the present invention creates a configurable overlay that can maximize the usability or availability of a multi-mode mobile terminal or other communication device.
In accordance with an illustrative embodiment of the present invention, a service provider can be selected for a primary communication mode using a mode-specific methodology or protocol to make the selection. The selected service provider is classified in accordance with a service provider selection model that defines a continuum of common service provider preference levels. Because different communication modes may use different classification labels for service providers, the service provider selection model of the present invention can be used to integrate these potentially disparate classification schemes into a common framework. The common service provider preference levels may include a first category of preference levels that represent suitable or desirable communication service providers from which service may be acquired. In addition, the common service provider preference levels may also include a second category of preference levels that represent unsuitable service providers from which service should not or cannot be acquired. If a service provider selected for a particular communication mode maps into a service provider preference level classification that falls into the unsuitable category, then a service provider is selected for an alternative communication mode using a selection methodology or protocol specific to that communication mode.
In accordance with an aspect of the invention, an adjustable threshold can be used with the service provider selection model to divide a third category of preference levels into the first and second categories representing suitable and unsuitable service providers. The adjustable threshold provides flexibility in the service provider selection model to either narrow or broaden the range of service providers that would be suitable candidates from which service may be acquired.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, communication modes may be ranked to define an order in which they will be used to find a suitable service provider.
In accordance with still another aspect of the invention, multiple communication modes can be surveyed in parallel to select a service provider for each mode using mode-specific selection methodologies or protocols. The highest classified service provider from among those service providers that fall in the suitable category is selected for establishing service therefrom.
The present invention, therefore, can provide a predictable, reliable, and consistent mechanism for determining which communication mode to use and which provider to select when establishing service. Such stability in multi-mode service selection can assure service provider revenue in cross-technology business agreements and can provide a foundation for multi-mode partnerships and business planning.